The present invention provides a system that facilitates the selection of purchasable items for use in an environs defined by the customer. In one aspect, the system includes a processing element capable of proposing a plurality of purchasable items to the customer for selection by the customer. The processing element also is capable of receiving data representing the environs and data representing at least one purchasable item selected by the customer. The processing element is further capable of generating and displaying a three-dimensional graphical representation of the environs and each purchasable item or items selected by the customer so that the customer can visualize the items in the environs.
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1. A system for facilitating the selection of configurable purchasable items by a customer and the manufacture of selected configurable purchasable items by a third-party vendor, the system comprising: a processing element capable of proposing a plurality of configurable purchasable items to the customer for selection by the customer, said processing element being capable of receiving data representing at least one configurable purchasable item selected by the customer, said processing element being capable of soliciting from the customer specifications for the at least one configurable purchasable item selected by the customer, said processing element being capable of receiving data representing the specifications for the at least one configurable purchasable item selected by the customer, and wherein said processing element is further capable of communicating data representing the specifications for the at least one configurable purchasable item selected by the customer to the third-party vendor.
A system facilitates customer selection of configurable items and enables a third-party vendor to manufacture them. The system proposes configurable purchasable items to the customer for selection. It receives data representing the customer's selected item(s) and solicits specifications for those items. The system receives the customer's specifications and communicates this specification data to the third-party vendor for manufacturing. This allows the vendor to create the item based on the customer's selections and specifications.
2. A system according to claim 1 wherein the configurable purchasable items comprise products selected from the group consisting of furniture, appliances, flooring, decking, lighting, countertops, millwork, doorframes, window frames, doors, windows, paint, wall coverings, cabinetry, and shelving.
The system described previously, which facilitates customer selection of configurable items and enables a third-party vendor to manufacture them, proposes configurable purchasable items to the customer, receives data about selected items, solicits and receives customer specifications, and communicates specifications to the vendor. In this version, the configurable purchasable items are products like furniture, appliances, flooring, decking, lighting, countertops, millwork, doorframes, window frames, doors, windows, paint, wall coverings, cabinetry, and shelving.
3. A system according to claim 1 wherein the configurable purchasable items comprise services selected from the group consisting of design services, measuring services, installation services, maintenance services and warranty services.
The system described previously, which facilitates customer selection of configurable items and enables a third-party vendor to manufacture them, proposes configurable purchasable items to the customer, receives data about selected items, solicits and receives customer specifications, and communicates specifications to the vendor. In this version, the configurable purchasable items are services like design services, measuring services, installation services, maintenance services, and warranty services.
4. A system according to claim 1 wherein said processing element is further capable of scheduling an appointment for the customer with an in-store customer representative relating to the at least one configurable purchasable item selected by the customer.
The system described previously, which facilitates customer selection of configurable items and enables a third-party vendor to manufacture them, proposes configurable purchasable items to the customer, receives data about selected items, solicits and receives customer specifications, and communicates specifications to the vendor. This version also schedules an appointment for the customer with an in-store representative regarding the selected configurable items.
5. A system according to claim 1 wherein said processing element is further capable of scheduling at least one of the delivery of, installation of and on-site measurement for the at least one configurable purchasable item selected by the customer.
The system described previously, which facilitates customer selection of configurable items and enables a third-party vendor to manufacture them, proposes configurable purchasable items to the customer, receives data about selected items, solicits and receives customer specifications, and communicates specifications to the vendor. This version also schedules delivery, installation, or on-site measurement (or any combination) for the customer's selected configurable item.
6. A system according to claim 1 wherein said processing element is further capable of prompting a customer representative to contact the customer based upon the data received representing the at least one configurable purchasable item selected by the customer.
The system described previously, which facilitates customer selection of configurable items and enables a third-party vendor to manufacture them, proposes configurable purchasable items to the customer, receives data about selected items, solicits and receives customer specifications, and communicates specifications to the vendor. This version prompts a customer representative to contact the customer based on the data received for the selected configurable item.
7. A system according to claim 1 wherein said processing element is further capable of proposing a plurality of purchasable items to a plurality of customers for selection by the customers, said processing element being capable of receiving and storing data representing at least one purchasable item selected by each customer and data representing at least one sales variable for each customer, and wherein said processing element is further capable of comparing the at least one sales variable for at least two customers.
The system described previously, which facilitates customer selection of configurable items and enables a third-party vendor to manufacture them, proposes configurable purchasable items to the customer, receives data about selected items, solicits and receives customer specifications, and communicates specifications to the vendor. This version proposes items to multiple customers, stores data on selected items and sales variables for each customer, and compares sales variables between at least two customers. This likely assists with targeted marketing or sales analysis.
8. A computer program product for facilitating the selection of configurable purchasable items by a customer and the manufacture of selected configurable purchasable items by a third-party vendor, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code portions stored therein, the computer-readable program portions comprising: an executable portion for proposing a plurality of configurable purchasable items to the customer for selection by the customer, said executable portion capable of receiving data representing at least one configurable purchasable item selected by the customer, said executable portion capable of soliciting from the customer specifications for the at least one configurable purchasable item selected by the customer, said executable portion capable of receiving data representing the specifications for the at least one configurable purchasable item selected by the customer, and wherein said executable portion capable of communicating data representing the specifications for the at least one configurable purchasable item selected by the customer to the third-party vendor.
A computer program product, stored on a computer-readable medium, facilitates customer selection of configurable items and enables third-party vendor manufacture. The program proposes configurable purchasable items to the customer, receives data representing selected item(s), solicits specifications, receives specification data, and communicates the specifications to the third-party vendor. This allows the vendor to create the item based on the customer's configuration choices.
9. A computer program product according to claim 8 wherein the configurable purchasable items comprise products selected from the group consisting of furniture, appliances, flooring, decking, lighting, countertops, millwork, doorframes, window frames, doors, windows, paint, wall coverings, cabinetry, and shelving.
The computer program product, described previously as facilitating customer selection of configurable items and enabling third-party vendor manufacture by proposing items, receiving selections and specs, and communicating with the vendor, involves configurable purchasable *products* like furniture, appliances, flooring, decking, lighting, countertops, millwork, doorframes, window frames, doors, windows, paint, wall coverings, cabinetry, and shelving.
10. A computer program product according to claim 8 wherein the configurable purchasable items comprise services selected from the group consisting of design services, measuring services, installation services, maintenance services and warranty services.
The computer program product, described previously as facilitating customer selection of configurable items and enabling third-party vendor manufacture by proposing items, receiving selections and specs, and communicating with the vendor, involves configurable purchasable *services* like design services, measuring services, installation services, maintenance services, and warranty services.
11. A computer program product according to claim 8 wherein said executable portion capable of scheduling an appointment for the customer with an in-store customer representative relating to the at least one configurable purchasable item selected by the customer.
The computer program product, described previously as facilitating customer selection of configurable items and enabling third-party vendor manufacture by proposing items, receiving selections and specs, and communicating with the vendor, also schedules an appointment for the customer with an in-store representative relating to the selected configurable item.
12. A computer program product according to claim 8 wherein said executable portion capable of scheduling at least one of the delivery of, installation of and on-site measurement for the at least one configurable purchasable item selected by the customer.
The computer program product, described previously as facilitating customer selection of configurable items and enabling third-party vendor manufacture by proposing items, receiving selections and specs, and communicating with the vendor, further schedules the delivery, installation, or on-site measurement (or any combination thereof) for the customer's selected configurable item.
13. A computer program product according to claim 8 wherein said executable portion capable of prompting a customer representative to contact the customer based upon the data received representing the at least one configurable purchasable item selected by the customer.
The computer program product, described previously as facilitating customer selection of configurable items and enabling third-party vendor manufacture by proposing items, receiving selections and specs, and communicating with the vendor, also prompts a customer representative to contact the customer based upon the selected configurable item.
14. A computer program product according to claim 8 wherein said executable portion capable of proposing a plurality of purchasable items to a plurality of customers for selection by the customers, said executable portion capable of receiving data representing at least one purchasable item selected by each customer and data representing at least one sales variable for each customer, and wherein said executable portion capable of comparing the at least one sales variable for at least two customers.
The computer program product, described previously as facilitating customer selection of configurable items and enabling third-party vendor manufacture by proposing items, receiving selections and specs, and communicating with the vendor, proposes items to multiple customers, stores selected items and sales variables per customer, and compares sales variables for different customers.
15. A method for facilitating the selection of configurable purchasable items by a customer and the manufacture of selected configurable purchasable items by a third-party vendor, the method comprising: proposing a plurality of configurable purchasable items to the customer for selection by the customer; receiving electronically data representing at least one configurable purchasable item selected by the customer; soliciting from the customer specifications for the at least one configurable purchasable item selected by the customer; receiving electronically data representing the specifications for the at least one configurable purchasable item selected by the customer; and communicating electronically data representing the specifications for the at least one configurable purchasable item selected by the customer to the third-party vendor.
A method facilitates customer selection of configurable items and enables a third-party vendor to manufacture them. The method proposes configurable purchasable items to the customer. It receives data representing the customer's selected item(s) electronically and solicits specifications for those items. The method receives the customer's specifications electronically and communicates this data to the third-party vendor electronically.
16. A method according to claim 15 wherein the configurable purchasable items comprise products selected from the group consisting of furniture, appliances, flooring, decking, lighting, countertops, millwork, doorframes, window frames, doors, windows, paint, wall coverings, cabinetry, and shelving.
The method described previously, which facilitates customer selection of configurable items and enables a third-party vendor to manufacture them by proposing items, receiving selections and specs, and communicating with the vendor, uses configurable purchasable *products* like furniture, appliances, flooring, decking, lighting, countertops, millwork, doorframes, window frames, doors, windows, paint, wall coverings, cabinetry, and shelving.
17. A method according to claim 15 wherein the configurable purchasable items comprise services selected from the group consisting of design services, measuring services, installation services, maintenance services and warranty services.
The method described previously, which facilitates customer selection of configurable items and enables a third-party vendor to manufacture them by proposing items, receiving selections and specs, and communicating with the vendor, uses configurable purchasable *services* like design services, measuring services, installation services, maintenance services, and warranty services.
18. A method according to claim 15 further comprising scheduling an appointment for the customer with an in-store customer representative relating to the at least one configurable purchasable item selected by the customer.
The method described previously, which facilitates customer selection of configurable items and enables a third-party vendor to manufacture them by proposing items, receiving selections and specs, and communicating with the vendor, also schedules an appointment for the customer with an in-store representative regarding the selected configurable item.
19. A method according to claim 15 further comprising scheduling at least one of the delivery of, installation of and on-site measurement for the at least one configurable purchasable item selected by the customer.
The method described previously, which facilitates customer selection of configurable items and enables a third-party vendor to manufacture them by proposing items, receiving selections and specs, and communicating with the vendor, further schedules the delivery, installation, or on-site measurement (or any combination thereof) for the selected configurable item.
20. A method according to claim 15 further comprising prompting a customer representative to contact the customer based upon the data received representing the at least one configurable purchasable item selected by the customer.
The method described previously, which facilitates customer selection of configurable items and enables a third-party vendor to manufacture them by proposing items, receiving selections and specs, and communicating with the vendor, also prompts a customer representative to contact the customer based upon the customer's selection data.
21. A method according to claim 15 further comprising: proposing a plurality of purchasable items to a plurality of customers for selection by the customers; receiving electronically data representing at least one purchasable item selected by each customer and data representing at least one sales variable for each customer; storing electronically data representing at least one purchasable item selected by each customer and data representing at least one sales variable for each customer; and comparing the at least one sales variable for at least two customers.
The method described previously, which facilitates customer selection of configurable items and enables a third-party vendor to manufacture them by proposing items, receiving selections and specs, and communicating with the vendor, proposes items to multiple customers, receives and stores data on selected items and sales variables per customer, and compares sales variables for different customers.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
December 24, 2010
September 10, 2013
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